Lubricator with adjustable oil feeder for pneumatic tools



Oct. 16, 1951 J. w. ARNOLD LUBRICATOR WITH ADJUSTABLE OIL FEEDER FOR PNEUMATIC TOOLS Filed March 8, 1948 R ESSLJRE J; 74 72 INVENTOR.

JOHN VV-ARNOLD, deceased,

B GRACE ARNOLD, excutri B m M MM AT TORNEYS Patented Oct. 16, 1 951 UNIT ED SZ'I-YATiEiS;v O FICE 2571,098 LUBRICATOR WITH'ADJUS TABLEQO'IL FEEDER FORBNEUM'ATICIT'OOES" John W; Arnold; deceased, late'of San Eranci'sco,

(lalif by Grace Arnold, executrix, S'ani Eran? cisco, Califgiassignor; by decreeof'distribution to Grace Arnold Application'Marclii 8, 1948, SerialiNo. 135694 1 Glaiin.-. (Cl. IMF-55):

The present invention relates to-impr'ovements in a lubricatorwith adjustable oilfeeder for pneumatic tools: It hasparticular referenceto alubricator that may be installed in' a compressed air line leading to a pneumatic-tool soas'tosupply a fOg'Of 'oil to the latter-whenever airis-flowing to'the tool. The fog of oil increases the life of the tool and-keeps" it in sustained operation;

Once in the-oillinewith-pressureturned on, thepressure backs--upinto-a feeder; and by means When the of a breather into= an-oil reservoir. operator starts thetool, the pressure-in the air line momentarily drops: reservoir forces-a fog of oil into theair line.

Thisfogof oil provides perfect lubr-icationand yet does away with the old problem of hose' de shown in Unitedf States Patent: No.1 2,046,313,

grantedto John W. Arnold on July 7,1936; Fur.-

ther it provides for improvements in the. Oil

Feeder for Lubricatori illustrated in John W.

Arnold?s-'copending application; Serial No; 556,239',i

filed on September 28; 1944, now abandoned.

' An object of thepresent invention isto provide' a lubricator of the character described, which will operate in an. air lin'e; regardless. of thezinclination of the: lubricator into horizontal and; vertical positions.

Another object of the. invention .is directed: to the automatic closingzof; the oil feeder'when the;

pressure in the air line is cut off, resulting inpreeluding a glob of oil from dropping into*the,:.air: passageway of the lubricator; Such agglob ofzoil? would be forced to the: tool and sprayed out through the exhaust port ofthe toolwhen the airis turned on again.

A still further object of the invention residesiin: the provision of a pressure-proof window, which:

will allow the. operator to determine at a glance: that asupply of oilstill remains in the lubricator. When the level of the oil is viewablethrough the window; the lubricator' requires" another supply, of oil.

Other objects and-advantageswill appear as the specification continues; and the novel; features;

will be set forth in the claim hereunto appended: For a better understanding of the invention; reference should be made to the accompanying drawing, forming part of this: application;

which:

Figure 1 is asideelevationof-a lubricator con- Back pressure in the structed=- in=- accordance with the. invention, the;

lubricator being-disposed inia substantially horiezontal position;

Figure 2 is a longitudinal sectional view taken 7 throughthe same lubricat'or;

Figure 3 is a View similar to Figures 1,.but.dis=

closing -the -lubricator on a smaller scale andarranged in vertical position;

Figure 4 is a vertical sectionalview taken through theoil feeder and breather; parts being illustrated. in elevation with: the valve in closed position, and

Figure 5 isa top plan" view of? Figurev 4.

While only the preferred form of the invention; has been shown, it will beunderstood that various;

way B leading therethroughi. This passageway extends lengthwise? of the; housing and. communicates with inlet andioutlet ports: 50 y and 5 I respectively, disposedatioppositeendsof the passageway. An air inletwhose;52z leadsgfrom-asource oficompressed air and is coupled to the port Why a fittingqElLv Theport 5I'has an outlet hose 54 coupledlthereto bya fitting, 5'5; and this hose extends to a pneumatic tool (notshown). v

During; the, operation of the pneumatic tool, air under pressure flows through; the passageway B in the direction of'the indicatingarrow' 5.6 provided on-the; exterionoftherhousing. This flow of. compressed air is further suggested by the-arrow: 5] in Figure 2; Asrthe air flows through the passagewayB; afo of oil, whichris-designated at C Figure Z, is entrained into the air stream and is; conveyed through the outlet hoseto. the pneumatic tool: A combined oil, feeder and breather D operates to deliver the fog of oil to the passageway in: a manner. hereinafter described.

Referring now to the-details of the housing A, itwillbeseen-from-Figure 2 that an oil reservoir E is providedion the interiorrof the housing and is separated from the air passageway B by an internal partition designated: generally atz 58. This reservoir? is disposed abovethe passageway- B when the housing; occupies a substantially horizontal position,asin'Figures1 and 2. When the housingv is moved into a. substantially vertical position, as in Figure 3, the reservoir will be located on one side of the air. passageway. The housing; A. is light in wieight and adds .no appreciablezdrag to the air hoses, and its streamlined shape pulls around corners without catching. As the hose 54, which leads to the pneumatic tool (not shown) is pulled toward a vertical position, the housing will follow readily. In coupling the housing into the air line, care must be taken to insure that the compressed air will flow through the passageway B in the direction of the arrow 56.

The partition 58 extends from one side of the housing A to the opposite side thereof. It includes a bottom wall 58a that slopes relative to the axis 59 of ports 50 and 5|. The direction of slope is rearwardly and downwardly from a position above the outlet port 5| to a point adjacent to the inlet port 50. At this point, the partition defines a rear wall 58b that extends upwardly at right angles to the bottom wall 58a. The lowest part of the reservoir E is disposed at the junction 580 of the walls 58a and 58b. This arrangement causes oil 60 in the reservoir to gravitate toward the rear wall 581), regardless of whether the housing is horizontally disposed, as shown in Figure 1, or vertically disposed, as shown in Figure 3, or at any angle of inclination therebetween.

The bottom Wall 58a has a threaded opening 6| fashioned therein for receivin a threaded shank 62 formed as part of the combined oil feeder and breather D. This shank is integral with a valve body indicated generally at 63. The upper portion of this valve body has a threaded bore 64 that is adapted to receive a threaded plug 65 of an adjustable valve Dl. The latter has a tapered stem 66 formed integral with and depending from the plug 65. This stem projects into a tapered oil outlet 61 fashioned in the lower part of the shank 62. The taper of the stem 66 and outlet 61 preferably correspond with one another, as clearly illustrated in Figure 4.

The interior of the valve body 63 is fashioned with a cavity 68, which extends from the threaded bore 64 to the outlet 61. A lateral bore 69 in the valve body places the cavity 68 in communication with the oil reservoir E at a point adjacent to the junction 580, or the lowest part of the reservoir. The bore 69 faces toward the rear wall 58b of the internal partition.

The cavity 68 houses a coil sprin 10, which encircles the stem 66. The top of this spring bears against the undersurface of the plug 65, while the bottom of the spring rests on a seat 1| provided at the bottom of the cavity 68. It will be noted from Figure 4 that the threads on this plug fit loosely with the threads in the bore 64. Assuming that no pressure prevails in the reservoir E, the plug 65 will be forced upwardly by the spring 10 until the upper surfaces 65a of the plug bear against the underneath surfaces 64a of the threads provided in the bore 64. In Figure 4, however, the word Pressure indicates that downward pressure exists against the head 12 of the adjustable valve DI. This has caused a space 13 to be created between the surfaces 64a and 65a of the threads. The reason for'this space will be set forth later. The spring causes the plug 65 to remain in the position to which it is ad- J'usted.

The adjustable valve DI has a kerf I4 therein by means of which the valve can be adjusted to vary the amount of spacin between the tapered stem 66 and the oil outlet 61. The valve body 63 carries an upright pin 15 that acts as'a stop for a radially-extending pin 16, the latter being fixed to and projecting from the head 12.

Referring now to Figures 4 and 5, it will be noted that the valve body 63 is provided with a flange TI. The upper surface of this flange is graduated with the numerals 0 to 30, inclusive, in multiples of five. The stem 66 may be completely closed upon the wall of the opening 61 for shutting off the oil supply from the cavity 68 to the passageway, and this occurs when the head 12 is turned in a clockwise direction in Figure 5 until the pin 16 strikes the pin 15. It will be understood, of course, that when the head is turned counter-clockwise in this same view, the stem 66 will be retracted relative to the wall of the outlet opening 61. This will allow a greater amount of oil fog to enter the passageway B.

The housing A is provided with a pressureproof window 18 in one wall thereof. This window is arranged adjacent to the junction 580 (see Figure 2); which, also, is adjacent to the inlet end of the lateral bore 69. Whenever the oil 60 in the reservoir E covers the window 18, regardless of the inclination of the housing A, the operator will know that there is sufficient oil in the reservoir for lubricating the pneumatic tool. However, when the actual level of the oil can be observed through the window, the oil supply should be replenished.

Access to the reservoir E for filling purpose is had by removing a plug 19. The axis of this plug extends at right angles to the sloping wall 58a and also coincides with the longitudinal axis of the adjustable valve DI. When the plug 19 is removed, the threaded shank 62 can be threaded into the opening 6|. The flange H is provided with recesses 11a to permit this shank to be screwed into place or removed. Adjustment of the valve DI is afforded when the plug 19 is removed.

Having thus described the various parts of the device, the operation thereof may be summarized briefly as follows:

When the lubricator is used in a compressed air line leading to a pneumatic tool, the intermittent use of the latter causes the air pressure in the passageway to vary. Once the air pressure has built up, some of the air will cause the tapered stem 66 to raise relative to the wall of the opening 61, and this air will bleed through the cavity 68 and bore 69 into the reservoir E. This is assuming that the Valve Dl is at least partially opened.

As soon as the operator starts the pneumatic tool, the pressure in the passageway B momentarily drops. Back pressure of air in the reservoir forces a fog of oil, as suggested by the arrow 8| in Figure 4, from the reservoir into the passageway B. The actual amount of the fog of oil C entering the passageway depends upon the setting of the adjustable valve DI.

This fog of oil is suspended in the air stream and will provide perfect lubrication for the tool. At the same time the problem of hose deterioration is not present, since the oil is in the air itselfnot clinging to the hose walls. The flow of the fog of oil is automatic while the tool is in use, regardless of the inclination of the housing A. The operator can determine at a glance at the window 18 whether or not a suflicient supply of oil remains in the reservoir E.

The loose fitting of the threads on the screw plug 65 with those in the threaded bore 64 will permit automatic shutting off of the oil supply to the passageway for fine settings of the adjustable valve DI, for instance /1000 of an inch. This will be obvious by reference to Figure 4, wherein pressure in the reservoir is tending to push the head 12 downwardly. Assuming that the pressure in the passageway B drops, the space 13 between the thread surfaces 64a and 65a will permit the stem 66 to move downwardly against the action of the spring until the outlet opening 61 is closed. This will prevent a glob of oil from entering the passageway B during a period of non-use of the pneumatic tool. Such a glob of oil would be forced through the hose 54 and finally be discharged through the exhaust port of the tool, splattering the operator and work.

The adjustable oil feeder makes it adaptable to all climates and conditions. This permits a perfect fiow of oiled fog to be obtained from kerosene, solvent, or various grades and weights of oil. An increased opening may be found necessary for lower temperatures. The valve DI should be adjusted to a point where a slight film of oil can be felt on the operator's hand when it is held over the exhaust of the pneumatic tool.

What is claimed is:

A lubricator for pneumatic tools which is adapted to be connected into the air hose line comprising an elongated housing including a lower wall, said housing having a dividing wall therein which provides an upper chamber forming a lubricant-retaining reservoir and a lower chamber forming an air passageway, said passageway extending longitudinally of the housing, said housing having an inlet port at one end thereof communicating with one end of the passageway and having an outlet port at the other end thereof communicating with the other end of the passageway; said dividing wall having one portion thereof extending from one end of the housing adjacent said outlet port downwardly towards the opposite end of said housing to a point adjacent the lower portion of the inlet port and having a second portion extending from said .point adjacent the inlet port upwardly to a position adjacent the upper portion of said inlet port, and a lubricant feeder and breather arranged adjacent the lowermost portion of said dividing. wall for feeding substantially all of the lubricant from the reservoir into the air passageway when the housing is horizontally disposed or vertically disposed with the inlet port down. i

- GRACE ARNOLD, Emecutrix of the Estate of John W. Arnold,

Deceased.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

